Bjp

The ruling AIADMK on March 17 released the list of constituencies to be contested by the party along with its allies for the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat for the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The results of the elections to three States – MP, Rajasthan and Vhhatisgarh – may have brought the Congress back to power and at the forefront of the struggle to dislodge the BJP from power at the Centre, but an analysis of the voting trends shows that the Congress needs to tie up with the BSP in various States to pip the BJP at the hustings.

Much as actor Rajinikanth tries to cover up his BJP tag, the issue keeps cropping up every now and then, blocking the growth of his political party. His statement a few days ago indirectly praising PM Narendra Modi is the latest in the saga of the actor taking one step forward but two steps back while trying to build an independent party in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu, already earning a notorious tag for its efforts to put down dissent especially against the BJP, blotted its copybook further with the arrest of a 28-year-old research scholar from Canada, Lois Sofia, for shouting, “down with Modi, BJP-RSS fascist government,” towards the end of a Chennai-Thoothukudi flight when TN BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan crossed her.

Leader after leader of various opposition parties, speaking at the Kalaignar condolence meeting in Chennai on August 30, stressed that the newly-elected president M K Stalin will play a crucial role in the formation of the next government at the Centre. For Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Pon Radhakrishnan of the BJP, it must have been galling to find a galaxy of opposition parties coming together under one platform which could be a precursor to an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has had to swallow a bitter pill administered by BJP National President Amit Shah just a few days ago in Chennai, by agreeing to his request to support the NDA government in the Lok Sabha today. Amit Shah had hit out at massive corruption in Tamil Nadu, a direct indictment of the AIADMK government in the State, forcing AIADMK leaders to hit back strongly at the BJP.

The ruling NDA government led by the BJP was stung on July 20, 2018, by the decision of its key constituency and ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, to abstain from the Lok Sabha debate on the no trust move against the government, and its refusal to bail out the Modi government at a crucial juncture.

The Supreme Court verdict on the powers of the Lt. Governor, making it clear that he has no independent power and that he must abide by the Council of Ministers, has come as a relief to the people of Delhi and Puducherry who have suffered due to the LT Governor blocking various legislations and welfare measures of the elected governments.

Chennai Police detained over 50 PMK members when they attempted to lay siege to the BJP office at T Nagar in Chennai on June 25, 2018, to condemn its state president Tamilisai Soundararajan’s criticism of their party leader and founder Dr S Ramadoss.

A well-crafted BJP strategy to lure AIADMK MLAs into their den through interim chief minister O Panneerselvam has run into trouble, as it did not expect strong resilience from majority of the AIADMK MLAs who have remained with Sasikala despite threats, temptation and instigation.

SRM Group Chairman and SRM University Chancellor TR Pachamuthu has been arrested by the Crime Branch of the Chennai
police. Over 100 students had said that they had paid money to get medical seats in SRM college, but were not admitted.

Thanthi TV , in an Exit Poll aired on May 17 night, has predicted 111 seats for AIADMK and 99 seats for DMK-led alliance, with 16 seats still in the Neck To Neck (NTN) category out of 232 seats which went to the polls on May 16. Of the Others, the Third Front is set to win three seats, PMK 2 and BJP 1.

Thanthi TV, which carried out an elaborate survey throughout Tamil Nadu, has in its Opinion Poll aired on May 16 night, said the election is Too Close to Call. It has given 102 sure seats to the ruling AIADMK, 79 to the DMK-led alliance, a solitary seat to the PMK and said that 52 seats were going Neck to neck (NTN).

The average of four Exit Polls (Poll of Polls) by NDTV and Times Now has predicted a narrow win for the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, The average places DMK alliance at 117, and AIADMK at 108, and Others 9-12 seats, BJP 0. Others may play a key role in formation of the government in TN.

The BJP has fielded the son-in-law of a former AIADMK Minister, C Aranganayagam, against Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in the RK Nagar constituency, and K T Raghavan in Kolathur, for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections on May 16.

The AIADMK will win the May 2016 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu but the lead will be a slender one, according to an opinion poll conducted by C-Voter in association with Times Now and India TV. However, a News Nation opinion poll predicts a hung Assembly in Tamil Nadu, with DMK slightly ahead of the ruling AIADMK.

The BJP High Command on March 25 released the first list of 54 party candidates for the May 16 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. The list includes National secretary H Raja, senior leaders Vanathi Sreenivasan and Pon Vijayaraghavan.

BJP emissary and Union minister Prakash Javdekar called on DMDK leader Vijayakanth on February 28 in a bid to convince the DMDK to form alliance with the BJP for the forthcoming elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly